Every wondered why history is important? No, don’t go into an argument of whether history we read is distorted or an honest account of events free of prejudice and agenda. Just focus on the simple question we asked. Here, let us help you. History is important because it helps us to both learn and draw inspiration. It helps us to learn from the mistakes of our forefathers and it gives us inspiration with great tales of achievements. That’s why history is important. It helps us to understand our roots. Oh, one more thing! We need to write exams! In this article titled Today in History – November 7 – India and World, we will take a look into the important historical events that took place on this day back in time. No, we will not be offering any explanation because it is a mere facts sheet. So, you need to find out the explanation and its significance. Come on people, sweat yourselves a bit.

What Happened On This Day in History – November 7

Today in History – November 7: “India”

1858: Those adept with Indian Freedom Struggle must have heard of the name Bipin Chandra Pal. Known as the ‘Father of Revolutionary Thoughts in India’, Bipin Chandra Pal was born on this day in Hajibganj District’s Poil village, which is currently in Bangladesh but at the time of his birth, was a part of Bengal Presidency under British Rule. He was one of the members of the famous revolutionary trio – ‘Lal, Bal, Pal’.

1862: India’s last Mughal Emperor – Bahadur Shah Zafar – died on this day in Rangoon in prison maintained by the British.

1888: Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was born on this day in Madras Presidency under British Rule. He went on to become a world-renowned scientist (Physicist) who won the Nobel Prize for his extraordinary work in field of light scattering. He gave this world what are known as Raman Effect and Raman Lines.

1912: Maharaja of Travancore – Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma – was born on this day. He was the last Maharaja of Travancore – a princely state. With his death, Monarchy was abolished in Travancore. He is the one who passed the ‘Temple Entry Proclamation Act’ in 1936 in assembly of Travancore, wherein all Hindus, irrespective of caste, were allowed to enter temples and worship. It was the first of a kind act in whole of India.

2000: Bharat Ranta awardee, Chidambaram Subramaniam – a famous Indian Independence activist and politician of mammoth stature, who served both as India’s Finance Minister and Defence Minister – died on this day in Chennai.

Today in History – November 7: “World”

1492: Ensisheim meteorite – the oldest known meteorite for which an exact impact date is present – struck a wheat field just outside Ensisheim village in Alsace, France. The meteorite landed around noon.

1811: The Battle of Tippecanoe is fought during the Tecumseh’s War. It was fought near place, which in modern days is known as the Battle Ground located in Indiana, United States. This is the battle that sparked the famous Curse of Tippecanoe. An uncanny number of deaths of US Presidents while serving in White House made people believe that the Curse was true.

1861: The Battle of Belmont was fought during the American Civil War. Union forces who where led by General Ulysses S. Grant managed to overrun a Confederate camp. However, arrival of Confederate reinforcements eventually force the Union forces to retreat.

1893: Voting rights were granted to women in Colorado, U.S. It became the second US state to allow women to vote.

1900: Foundation day for People’s Party in Cuba.

1917: Date for October Revolution as per Gregorian Calendar. However, as per Julian Calendar (that was still followed by Soviet Union), the date was October 25 and hence the name ‘October Revolution’. On this day the Winter Palace was stormed by the Bolsheviks.

1917: During World War I, Ottoman Empire lost Gaza to the British forces, thereby marking an end to the Third Battle of Gaza.

1918: 7,542 people died in Western Samoa by the end of the calendar year after the influenza epidemic of 1918 spread across Western Samoa on this day. The number of people that died during the epidemic constituted 20% of total population of Western Samoa.

1919: On Russian Revolution’s second anniversary, the first Palmer Raid was conducted. The raid took place in 23 cities of United States of America and 10,000 people were arrested on suspicions of being anarchists and communists.

1941: German planes attacked and sank a hospital ship of Soviet Union called Armenia during WWII. The ship was in the process of evacuating staff of various Crimean hospitals, wounded military personnel and refugees. It is estimated that 5,000 people died because of the sinking.

1944: Richard Sorge – a veteran of World War I, who was actually half Russian and half German and a Soviet Spy – was hanged by the Japanese soldiers who managed to capture him. 34 other people in Sorge’s ring were also captured and hanged.

1956: During the Suez Crisis, a resolution passed by the United Nations asked France, Israel and United Kingdom to withdraw troops from Egypt right away.

1957: During the Cold War, a report known as Gaither Report stated that more American missiles and more fallout shelters were required.